Friend,

As we near the end of the current U.S. Supreme Court term, there are three significant religious-freedom cases hanging in the balance. The court’s decisions could distort long-standing principles of church-state separation and allow the government to misuse religious freedom as a license to harm others.

Our legal team is working hard to prepare for any outcome, but the scope of what is at stake is nearly unprecedented.

You can help us respond, no matter what happens, by making a generous $50 donation to Americans United today: [link removed]

Here are the cases that every supporter of church-state separation is watching:

Espinoza v. Montana Dep’t of Revenue — Three-quarters of state constitutions protect taxpayers from being forced to fund religious education, a fundamental principle and traditional value. In this case, the Supreme Court could decide to overturn these protections and insist that religious schools be included in private-school voucher programs. That would be a dangerous precedent that would erode church-state separation in Montana and the majority of states and would pave the way for even more private-school voucher schemes and other government funding of religion.

Trump v. Pennsylvania — This case involves proposed Trump-administration rules that, if upheld by the Supreme Court, will allow employers and universities to invoke religious or moral beliefs to deny contraceptive coverage guaranteed by the Affordable Care Act. A victory for Trump could deprive countless employees and students of access to critical reproductive healthcare.

Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru — Two fifth-grade teachers at private Catholic schools were fired for discriminatory reasons—one based on her age and the other after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. But their employers invoked the “ministerial exception,” a legal doctrine that excludes clergy and religious personnel at houses of worship and religious schools from the legal protections against employment discrimination. The Supreme Court’s decision could give broad license to treat hundreds of thousands of non-clergy employees as outside all the laws that protect workers against discrimination based on race, sex, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

We expect decisions on these cases as soon as next week, friend, and any one of them could be a watershed change for our right to religious freedom.

Please click here to donate $50 today. Your generosity will help our legal team respond to any outcome and lead the defense of church-state separation: [link removed]

Thank you for your enduring support.

Sincerely,

Richard B. Katskee
Legal Director

P.S. On Tuesday, experts from my legal team hosted an hour-long Supreme Court briefing to cover these cases in more detail. Click here to watch a free recording online: [link removed]

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